Photo caption: Eagle third baseman Austin White makes a play on a ball at third behind a diving Weatherford player Saturday.† † †
The NTCC Eagles baseball team went 3-1 to open the Fall 2012 season this weekend as they played host to a tournament at Bob Baker Field.
The Eagles split Friday?s two games as NTCC downed Bossier Parish 7-0 in the day?s early game before dropping the nightcap to Weatherford, 1-0.
NTCC bounced back with a pair of wins Saturday as the Eagles beat Weatherford 12-3 before earning a 12-9 victory over Grayson College.
?It?s very early right now and we are all still trying to see what kind of players we have, but it is nice to playing well,? Eagles head coach Josh Stewart said. ?We have a long way to go before we will know what kind of team we are going to have but this is a great way to get started.?
Sophomore transfer Austin White led the Eagles at the plate over the weekend, going 5-9 with a pair of doubles and scoring four runs. Former Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill Red Devil Austin Lick also had a good weekend for the Eagles, going 5-13 at the plate with three RBI and also scored three runs.
The Eagle pitching staff was also led by a sophomore transfer as Kyle Neely struck out seven of the 11 batters he faced in NTCC?s 12-9 win over Grayson. Cade Andrus, Collin Day, Michael Hoffman and Justin Schnedler all also struck out five while allowing no runs in their outings this weekend.
A three-run home run by Julian Service in the sixth inning was the highlight of the Eagles? 7-0 win over Bossier Parish to open the season while White was 2-3 in the game and Wesley Hoover added two hits (including a triple).
A solo home run in the top of the second inning was the difference against Weatherford Friday evening as the Eagles fell 1-0. Hoover, Lick, White and Matt Durst all had hits for the Eagles in the loss.
Despite the loss, all three Eagles pitchers in the game had strong performances as Greg Milhorn, Neely and Schnedler combined to give up just the single run on seven hits while striking out 17.
A five-run second inning by the Eagles set the tone Saturday as NTCC avenged the previous night?s loss with a 12-3 win over Weatherford.
Lick finished 2-5 and drove in three runs in the win for the Eagles while Daniels added three hits and White had two.
The Eagles scored 10 of their 12 runs in the middle innings Saturday evening as NTCC downed Grayson College 12-9.
Down 5-2 in the fifth inning, the Eagles scored three in the fifth, four in the sixth and three more seventh inning en route to the win.
Jason Freeman led the Eagles in the win, picking up three hits in five at bats while Lick and Josh Bunselmeyer added two hits each in the victory.
The Eagles will be back in action Friday as they travel to face Bossier Parish. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
